Thoughts

3 Confidence Boosters for Getting Up and Getting on with It

From time to time, each of us can use a boost to our confidence level. But how to get there? A lot of us take on so many projects and obligations that we become swamped. We spend all our time dealing with hassles and problems. We feel down or stop believing we can solve problems. Here are some ideas to move you from down-in-the-dumps to your best.

A Little Personal Renovation

A quick way of getting a boost in confidence can be to give your appearance a bit of a makeover or update. Maybe you have an interview coming up, a tough business meeting to prep for. Maybe you are meeting someone for the first time and want to make a good impression. First impressions are made in 5-10 seconds, so your appearance and body language are key. Taking the time and effort to look polished and prepared make you feel better. And you will walk a little taller and will naturally act with more confidence and self-control.

An Angel on Your Shoulder

Who wouldn’t love to have someone in their corner cheering them on? Maybe you are in a situation where you feel your best is just not good enough. Maybe you are going through a particularly long period of lack of confidence. It’s time to find a personal cheerleader. No pompoms, high jumps or megaphones, but someone whose opinion you respect that can give you some daily advice, tips and encouragement. When you just can’t pick yourself up, wouldn’t it be great to have someone to call or visit. Or even someone who occasionally calls just to cheer you up? Reach out. It will make a huge difference not only to your life but to theirs as well.

See Yourself as a Winner

Another way to jump start confidence is to actively visualize your goals. By visualizing the path to your goal step-by-step, you are imagining your success. If you are unhappy with the person that you are now, then visualize the person you want to be. Be specific and clear in your goals and visualization for optimal results. If you find it hard to visualize, try writing down your goals, use a voice recorder or find an app that works for you.

Failure as a Teacher

Finally a key factor of confidence relates to how you deal with and think about failure. As Oprah recently said, “Failure is a great teacher, if you’re open to it.”

If you can view failure as a learning experience to be put to use in the future, then you will be fine. But if your failures still haunt you years later and you replay them in your head, try examining what went wrong and what you learned from the experience. For example, if you are job hunting, you may need to have a few rejections and miss a few opportunities before you hit the jackpot. If your presentation missed the mark, figure out where the weak point was. Again analyze and articulate what you did well and where you need improvement. The more you focus your thoughts on what you can do to change, improve or adapt, the sooner you’ll feel confidence in your own abilities.